QUESTION CORNER Q: Why must I confess to a priest, when I can just talk to God? (Newark, New Jersey) A: Jesus told his Apostles: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn 20:23). Our bishops are the direct successors to the Apostles and, together with their priests, […]
Elizabeth Scalia: The prayers of Bakhita
COMMENTARY When she was canonized by Pope St. John Paul in 2000, Josephine Bakhita immediately became the patron saint of survivors of human trafficking. Even a cursory read of her story more than explains why. Kidnapped from the Sudanese village where her father was a chieftain and ironically renamed “Bakhita” (Arabic for the “lucky” or […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: We need not be sinners
3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23 The Book of Isaiah supplies this weekend’s first reading. It offers us a powerful lesson. Isaiah lived in a time when God’s people were skating on thin ice. They still had their independence, at least after a fashion. Hebrew kings still reigned […]
Mary Duddy: The gift of silence
THE MARRIED LIFE Jesus came into the world in the silence of the night. And it is often in the silence that he speaks to us. Many years ago, my brother Matt was searching for the truth. He had gone through several troublesome years, giving my mother cause for tears and prayers, like those of […]
Bishop Larry Silva: The greatest gift
WITNESS TO JESUS | SOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Here is the prepared text of the homily delivered by Bishop Larry Silva on Jan. 7 and 8, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Honokaa. Today, throughout our diocese, we are asking all the parishes to […]
Talk story: Lights in the darkness
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY “Child of Bethlehem … do not leave us indifferent before the tragic situation of migrants, displaced persons, and refugees. Their eyes beg us not to look the other way, ignoring our common humanity, but instead to make their stories our own and to be mindful of their plight.” (Pope Francis’ holiday […]
Laura Kelly Fanucci: When you’re sick of being sick
FAITH AT HOME Here is a story that every family I know can tell: all of us have been sick. For a long, long time. In the past few months our household has endured countless rounds of colds and coughs, flu and fevers. With four kids in school and one toddler at home it’s not […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Visitors from the East
EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12 This weekend the church celebrates the ancient Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, commemorating, and reflecting upon, the visit of magi “from the East” to the crib side of the newborn Savior. For the first reading, the church presents a passage from the […]
Maureen Pratt: Living well
LIVING WELL A blessed, light-filled Christmas to you! It is Advent as I am writing this and I am certainly enjoying my Advent wreath, the warm glow from the first-week, first-lit purple candle, and the sparkle of votives on either side of my creche. Because of some scheduled eye surgery, I put up my Christmas […]
Greg Erlandson: The advent of population decline
AMID THE FRAY As we celebrate the birth of the Savior Child, it seems fitting to note that in many parts of the developed world, the lack of babies is a growing concern. This is a surprising change for those of us raised on “The Population Bomb,” a wildly inaccurate prediction that the world’s population […]
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